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Book Review – Open – Andre Agassi

Open, though its a popular book about world’s best tennis player but I first got to hear about it from Delhi Book Club’s Facebook group. The book’s cover as you can see features Andre Agassi. His eyes look as if they are dying to tell hundreds of stories and he does that in his autobiography. I got this book as a birthday gift from one of my twitter friends, Renu ( @Thodi_c_crazy ) with two other books, thanks to Uread.com ! 😛

Open opens with a shocking fact about Agassi, that he actually hated tennis, why ? Well, you would know about it in the first 2 chapters of the book. It was a heart breaking fact for me. I remember, when he used to play, my dad used to stick to TV during the matches and he used to pray Agassi’s style of playing tennis like anything also when he got retired, dad stopped watching tennis!

The book opens with Agassi gearing up for the last match of his career. In extreme pain and myriad of thoughts occupying his mind, his journey from his hotel room to the court, he explains it with such intricate details that you are instantly hooked to the book. His style of writing and the way he has expressed what used to feel in those times makes you feel sad about him. Though, I like one of the quote from the book which I would like to share here

“Stop Thinking and Start Doing, If You Are Thinking Too Much, You Are Not Doing Anything”

which is the rule I follow in my own life. I don’t think much. I believe in doing and learning !

Also, the book teaches you a lot about life. Agassi, despite of hating the game of tennis, seeing its highs and lows, still marvels at it. That is something I really admire about him. His rage, his attitude and his thought process is something that is forever etched on my mind after reading this. Extremely focussed in his own way, fighting with his mind and heart constantly, he achieved what his father had always wanted. I really don’t know how to put this across, but I think one must read this book just to understand that how is it like hating something that you do for a living and still excel at it.

Agassi’s journey with people around him and how he treasured and dealt with them is something to look out for. The way his brother supported him, his mother, always calm and composed took care of him, his friend Perri, his coaches, his opponents and many other people, he has given all the details about each and every one of them. I absolutely loved this book and I might read it again in future. Also, I have made a pact with myself that weekends would be kept for biographies and autobiographies. They teach you a lot and give you thousands of thoughts to introspect on. Open is a MUST READ for all those people who love tennis and Andre Agassi. Pick this book as soon as possible.